Booker T. Washington's Lack Of Education

1136 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Booker t washington the struggle for eduction summary

When reading slave narratives one can see that education was most often looked at as a forbidden fruit. Only some dare to go against the system of chattel slavery and learn to read, most slaves thought they would never receive an educated. Education was used as power; since blacks were uneducated it allowed whites to claim superiority over them. The lack of education, and the color of their skin kept slaves in an inferior position. After the civil war these newly free people were now able to gain an education, without any consequence. Education among colored people seemed to be of high importance, but it was not easily accessible, teachers knew very little things, and working became more important than education. Between Booker T. Washington, …show more content…

Education was often put off, because they need to work, or they could not afford the cost of attendance. Education became a privilege; some of the smart colored people were not able to obtain an education because they had to work and support their family. Many tried to balance the two by going to work in the morning or the daytime, and going to school after. Many fell short, it was too much to balance and they would just end up neglecting school just as Booker T. Washington did. There were schools put in place that could help the non-privilege “poor but worthy students could work out all or part of the cost of board at the same time be taught some trade or industry”. These institutions helped many people, often too many people that the dorms became overcrowded. Student would have to sleep outside in tents during the winter, and did not complain. This shows how dedicated they were to getting an …show more content…

Washington was able to attend Hampton Institute, which allowed him to work as a janitor to pay for his attendance. By receiving an education from the institution he was able to teach other colored people, and become this great leader among the black community. He felt, as colored people should only attend trade or industrial schools, and that is the type of school he opened in Tuskegee. Booker T. Washington was criticized by many pertaining to his views on education among his fellow colored people. W.E.B Du Bios was one of those critics; in his novel souls of black folks he talks about how Booker T. Washington was being submissive to the white people. Du Bios felt as Washington “surrender their civil and political rights”; Mr. Washington was okay with accepting an inferior position in order to gain economic status in the long run. Although Du Bios felt that Mr. Washington was submissive, Du Bios also called his program unique. Although Washington does want the colored people to advance, the things he asked of colored people contradict his motives. Du Bios challenges the things that Mr. Washington asked of them, which were to give up political power, insistence on civil rights, and higher education of the youth. Du Bios says that with this being asked of the colored people would lead to the disfranchisement of the Negro, a legal creation of a distinct status of civil inferiority for the Negro, and a steady withdraw of aid from institution for higher education of

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Thomas Jefferson Views On Slavery

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many blacks were unable to read or write, but there were also many African Americans that were more educated than their white counterparts, such as poet Phillis Wheatley. Jefferson often times looked at African Americans next to the white race “comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me that in memory they are equal to the whites, in reason they are much inferior and in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous” (764). Many times, their imagination, memory, and reasoning would be closely related to whites, they just had a different thought process and a different way of solving problems. Many African Americans never had the opportunity to learn, due to the fact that slave owners wanted remain in power and feel more

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Booker T. Washington And Jane Addams

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    Washington wanted to ensure the white race that education of colored individuals would not lead to a decrease in domestic services, as this was one of the main fears presented throughout. The beginning of the Institute started with only Washington as the teacher, and thirty students (Washington 58). While the Tuskegee Institute did an excellent job in developing students minds and reading abilities, Washington wanted to also teach his students practical life skills. Understanding that his students came from homes with little opportunities, Washington made it a priority to teach students how to care for their themselves. Students were taught how to bathe, care for their teeth, wash their clothing, and even what to eat and how to eat properly (Washington 61). Along with these basic skills, students were taught in a way so they could both become teachers and return to the plantation districts (Washington 61). Rather than simply studying books, students engaged in labor and physically saw what it meant to pave one’s own way. Washington wanted to implement a set of agricultural skills that would allow students to gain a new set of ideas and energy that could improve the industry. Soon after Washington found a new location to move his growing school, students were in charge of completing all the chores needed to successfully move to the farm. While

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Washington And W. E. B. Dubois

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It should come as no surprise that Washington’s historical conflict culminated as a struggle between him and DuBois” (Gibson III 66). To say the least, both men were very active in the upbringing of African-Americans, but their differences in displaying out the solution was what brought them apart. Washington wanted the education system to enforce industrial teachings that started at lower economic power, while DuBois had more abstract ideas of equality and voting for African-Americans. Washington was conservative in the matter of African-American inclusion into society, hoping that given enough time and progress, people would learn to accept them, rather than fight for social power like what DuBois stood for. Despite Washington’s program that appealed to White-Americans, he was involved in politics and spoke about the disfranchisement of African-Americans. His idea of easing tensions with the superior gathered him more publicity, as to DuBois’s plan of protesting. As a result, DuBois’s idea became more prominent as it branches into what we know now as the civil rights movement. Historically, Washington and DuBois has made a name for themselves, through their intentions for the good will of African-Americans, and that is something that will always hold true in these two notorious

    Read More

  • Whether Reconstruction Truly Was Beneficial

    366 Words  | 1 Pages

    "The federal government and northern reformers of both races assisted this pursuit of education. …Given the eventual failure of Reconstruction, the gains that African-Americans made in their daily lives often proved the most enduring." --pg 460 Nortan

    Read More

  • W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were two very influential leaders in the black community during the late 19th century, early 20th century. However, they both had different views on improvement of social and economic standing for blacks. Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave, put into practice his educational ideas at Tuskegee, which opened in 1881. Washington stressed patience, manual training, and hard work. He believed that blacks should go to school, learn skills, and work their way up the ladder. Washington also urged blacks to accept racial discrimination for the time being, and once they worked their way up, they would gain the respect of whites and be fully accepted as citizens. W.E.B. Du Bois on the other hand, wanted a more aggressive strategy. He studied at Fisk University in Tennessee and the University of Berlin before he went on to study at Harvard. He then took a low paying research job at the University of Pennsylvania, using a new discipline of sociology which emphasized factual observation in the field to study the condition of blacks. The first study of the effect of urban life on blacks, it cited a wealth of statistics, all suggesting that crime in the ward stemmed not from inborn degeneracy but from the environment in which blacks lived. Change the environment, and people would change too; education was a good way to go about it. The different strategies offered by W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington in dealing with the problems of poverty and discrimination faced by Black Americans were education, developing economic skills, and insisting on things continually such as the right to vote. ...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast A Lesson Before Dying

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the pre-Civil War America, the enslaved African American’s were not recommended to be taught any form of education such as reading or writing. Many of the white people believed that if the slaves were to learn how to read and write that they would then start to think for themselves and create plans of a rebellion. There was sure to be a rebellion if they were to be taught any form of education. To make sure that the African American slaves did not try to become educated they had harsh punishments for anyone that tried to learn how to read and to write. Education during the pre-African-American Civil Rights Movement was a lot different from how it was during pre-Civil War America. The African American’s had schools that they could attend, but they were separated from the white people. There schools were not located in spots as pleasant as the schools that the white people attended. The African American’s did not have the same quantity and quality supplies as the white schools. Examples of how the African American’s did not receive the same type of tools to help with their education was shown in A Lesson Before Dying. The African American’s had books that had pages missing and that were falling apart, limited amount of chalk, pencils, paper, and other learning utensils while the schools that the white people attended had more than enough supplies and new books

    Read More

  • Nat Turner Rebellion Essay

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some free blacks chose to move their families north to obtain educations for their children. Some individual white people, like teachers Thomas J. Jackson and Mary Smith Peake, chose to violate the laws and teach slaves to read. Overall, the laws enacted in the aftermath of the Turner Rebellion enforced widespread illiteracy among slaves. It persisted; 35 years later, most newly freed slaves and many free blacks in the South were illiterate at the end of the American Civil War. Freedmen and Northerners considered the issue of education and helping former slaves gain literacy as one of the most critical in the postwar South. Consequently, many northern religious organizations, former Union Army officers and soldiers, and wealthy philanthropists were inspired to create and fund educational efforts specifically for the betterment of African Americans in the South.

    Read More

  • Of Booker T Washington And Others Summary

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Washington 's programme naturally takes an economic cast” (Du Bois). Du Bois believed that Washington’s theory was a gospel of Work and Money that ultimately overshadowed the higher aims of life” Later he makes another statement so powerful that should have made all African Americans want to stand up and fight for a better social status and rights for both the South and North. He goes on stating “The growing spirit of kindliness and reconciliation between the North and South after the frightful differences of a generation ago ought to be a source of deep congratulation to all, and especially to those whose mistreatment caused the war; but if that reconciliation is to be marked by the industrial slavery and civic death of those same black men, with permanent legislation into a position of inferiority, then those black men, if they are really men, are called upon by every consideration of patriotism and loyalty to oppose such a course by all civilized methods, even though such opposition involves disagreement with Mr. Booker T. Washington.” (Du

    Read More

  • Up From Slavery Book Report

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    This book was about Booker T Washington who was a slave on a plantation in Virginia until he was nine years old. His autobiography offers readers a look into his life as a young child. Simple pleasures, such as eating with a fork, sleeping in a bed, and wearing comfortable clothing, were unavailable to Washington and his family. His brief glimpses into a schoolhouse were all it took to make him long for a chance to study and learn. Readers will enjoy the straightforward and strong voice Washington uses to tell his story. The book document his childhood as a slave and his efforts to get an education, and he directly credits his education with his later success as a man of action in his community and the nation. Washington details his transition from student to teacher, and outlines his own development as an educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He tells the story of Tuskegee's growth, from classes held in a shantytown to a campus with many new buildings. In the final chapters of, it Washington describes his career as a public speaker and civil rights activist. Washington includes the address he gave at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, which made him a national figure. He concludes his autobiography with an account of several recognitions he has received for his work, including an honorary degree from Harvard, and two significant visits to Tuskegee, one by President McKinley and another by General Samuel C. Armstrong. During his lifetime, Booker T. Washington was a national leader for the betterment of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. He advocated for economic and industrial improvement of Blacks while accommodating Whites on voting rights and social equality.

    Read More

  • Booker T Washington And Du Bois Analysis

    1372 Words  | 3 Pages

    Du Bois, was the competing ideology at the time. Du Bois rose to prominence and became a great African-American leader in his own right around the time Washington was at his peak. Du Bois respected Washington but largely disagreed with his vision of black society and progression. Du Bois was a leader in several radical (at the time) organizations such as the Conference of Negro Problems and the Niagara Movement. (Lecture 9/27). With a background steeped in education, Du Bois also has a significantly different up-bringing than Washington. In part, this may explain some of the differences in their ideologies. In his book, The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois addresses Washington and his vision directly. Although Du Bois recognizes Washington’s successes and the caution in which Washington has had to employ in the South, Du Bois is still critical of him. “But aside from this, there is among educated and thoughtful colored men in all parts of the land a feeling of deep regret, sorrow, and apprehension at the wide currency and ascendency which some of Mr. Washington’s theories have gained.” (Du Bois, Souls of Black Folk, pg.36). Washington’s Atlanta Compromise received acclaim but the submissive tone and ideology is what Du Bois is critical of. This quote expresses the emotions felt by not just Du Bois but other educated black men and women throughout the country realizing the errors made in the speech. The acclaim the speech received is also an issue here

    Read More

  • The Reconstruction Period

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the years after the war, black and white teachers from the North and South, missionary organizations, churches and schools worked tirelessly to give the emancipated population the opportunity to learn. Former slaves of every age took advantage of the opportunity to become literate. Grandfathers and their grandchildren sat together in classrooms seeking to obtain the tools of freedom.

    Read More

  • Booker T Washington's Views Of Booker T. Washington

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The readings Booker T. Washington, The “Atlanta Compromise” and “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others” were both very interesting to me. The “Atlanta Compromise” was the actual speech Booker T. Washington gave to a majority white crowd asking for support for vocational/technical training and education. His focus on the speech was for the Black community to use their skills to earn a living and focus more on that than race relations. He was encouraging the black community to gain financial security and be open to getting the necessary tools to be their own providers.

    Read More

  • Age Of Reform In America

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...forbade black education. Besides that, very little of the white population went to schools anyway. Establishing school systems in these areas was a tricky job. Despite problems in the South and West with education, America had grown into a more learned nation. Over 80% of the population (excluding the slavery population) were literate, compared with a much lower literacy rate prior to the 1800’s. Americans had once again worked hard in order to enhance their societies’ standards.

    Read More

  • Booker T. Washington

    2315 Words  | 5 Pages

    Booker T. Washington was one of the most well-known African American educators of all time. Lessons from his life recordings and novelistic writings are still being talked and learned about today. His ideas of the accommodation of the Negro people and the instillation of a good work ethic into every student are opposed, though, by some well-known critics of both past and current times. They state their cases by claiming the Negro’s should not have stayed quiet and worked their way to wear they did, they should have demanded equal treatment from the southern whites and claimed what was previously promised to them. Also, they state that Washington did not really care about equality or respect, but about a status boost in his own life. Both arguments presented by Washington and his critics are equally valid when looked at in context, but When Mr. Booker gave his speech at the Atlanta Acquisition, he was more-so correct in his belief of accommodation. His opinions concerning that hard work achieved success and respect and that demanding requests does not give immediate results were more rational, practical, and realistic than others outcries of immediate gratification and popularity contests.

    Read More

  • Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ed from the institution through manual labor. Washington successfully makes his point that manual labor and industrial education could lead to the advancement of the black race following slavery.

    Read More

More about Booker T. Washington's Lack Of Education

Open Document